Candidates hoping to be Butler’s next mayor and sit on Butler City Council faced questions last night in front of a packed house at the Grand Ballroom on Main Street.
The public forum was the first and only before next month’s primary election. It featured mayoral candidates Republicans Tom Donaldson, Mike Walter and Ben Smith, and Democrat Jamie Lee Goehring. City council candidates Dane Winkler, Ken Bonus, Kathy Kline and Jim Kemple answered questions after the mayor’s debate.
Discussion surrounded how to fix the city’s drug problem, its financial woes and how to bring in new businesses.
Donaldson is Butler’s current mayor and seeking a second term. He touted his experience.
“I’m the only candidate that has on-the-job experience,” Donaldson said. “I do understand many of the problems we have here in the city and I feel I’m best equipped to continue to solve them.”
Goehring is a Butler business owner and the only candidate on the Democratic side of the ticket.
“I believe in this city,” Goehring said. “But we find ourselves in a very precarious situation right now. Unfortunately, we have a heroin opioid problem, our tax bases have been eroding and our budget is really working on a shoestring at this point.”
Smith is a co-owner of the Reclamation Brewing Company on Main Street in Butler.
“My platform is business-based,” he said. “I think there are a lot of issues with the city but I think when you bring in more businesses, you bring in more homeowners with them. And when you bring in more homeowners and businesses and responsible landlords and tenants, you start to drive out some of those other problems.”
Walter currently sits on Butler City Council.
“I would like to see the town grow,” he said. “I think we can do that with more cooperation with residents, business owners, unions. We’re all in this together.”
The primary election is Tuesday, May 16.
You can listen to the entire forum below.
Butler City Council candidates face questions on Wednesday at the Grand Ballroom in Butler.
